Quadratic equations

Question

A square is altered so that one domension is increased by 5 units, while the other dimension is decreased by 3 units. The area of the resulting rectangle os 48 sq units. Find the area of the original square.

Answer 1

If you let the dimensions of the original square be x by x, the new rectangle will have dimensions (x + 5) by (x - 3).

Setting that product = 48 ( the new area), FOILing, and subtracting 48 from both sides will give you a factorable quadratic = 0 with only one positive (whole number) solution. That is the original square’s side length